Hours later, Mitch lay awake in the depths of the night, his mind running over the events of the day again and again. What had happened here? Lady Elizabeth must have lusted after him ever since he turned her down. Apparently, she'd been so obsessed that she'd created an effigy of him with which she was living out her lewd sexual fantasies. How could she do such a thing? The whole thing made him feel angry and used and humiliated. It seemed an awful lot of trouble to go to but then again he supposed she didn't lack for money.
Did her PA also know about this? Was that why she was behaving so strangely? And now he knew about it, what was he to do? Call the police? Had any laws actually been broken? He eventually fell into a troubled sleep with more questions than answers running through his head.
The next morning he woke up early with the beginnings of a plan. He carefully thought through the details as he lay in the half-light, going over them again and again. As his old sergeant used to say: "fail to prepare and you prepare to fail".
He knew that manufacturers monitored their replicants and the Tyrell Corporation might wonder why Her Ladyship's butler had been in administrator mode for over twenty-four hours now, as it was only generally used for servicing. He knew he didn't have time to fool around so he got up and sprung into action.
A small, saucer-sized vacuum-bot scurried around his feet cleaning up hair as he trimmed his chest and pubic region with a pair of clippers. He kept comparing his mirror image with the photo's of the butler on his mobile. Satisfied that he'd trimmed his hair to the same level of sparseness he put the clippers away and showered.
He made a cup of coffee then phoned in sick to the office; he felt bad about doing that but having the whole day off was a crucial part of his plan. He knew his next job was going to be a bit trickier. He returned to the bathroom with a black felt-tip pen and a small shaving mirror. On his mobile, he carefully examined the close-up image of the bar-code on the butler's neck. Slowly he began to copy the design with light, tentative strokes at first, then inking the design in more firmly as he gained confidence. He kept referring back to the phone image until he was satisfied. He was pretty pleased with the result: it wasn't identical but you wouldn't notice the difference unless you looked very closely. Comparing his image in the mirror to the images on the phone he reckoned he was pretty much identical to the butler now.
Mitch whistled to himself cheerfully as he rolled up the gravel drive in the early afternoon sunshine. He was relieved to find the butler still in administrator mode and had him show him around the house as he tried to memorise the layout. The front door led into a large wood-panelled hall with a sweeping stone staircase. It had doors leading to a dining room, sitting room and kitchen. Beyond the large kitchen was a cellar, utilities room and a small bathroom. Although it was obviously an old house it had been extensively modernised.
He guessed that it had taken a very expensive interior designer to blend the modern and the old in such a tasteful way. In the sitting room, he made a mental note of the large oak table and solid oak beams supporting the first floor. He ordered the butler to help him plant a small HD camera in the corner on top of one of the beams.
Upstairs there were three large, airy bedrooms, a bathroom, a smart home office and a small library. He recognised the master bedroom with its en-suite bathroom from the night before and paused for a moment reflecting on the events that had brought him there. His plan was to impersonate the android and see exactly how badly she was behaving first-hand. Then at some point, he was planning to reveal his true identity by summoning the butler and then confront her about her actions. Hopefully it would be enough to persuade her to change her ways. But if she didn't agree, there was always the police...
"OK, I'm off now, I'll see you tomorrow," Marnie said, sticking her head round the door of Elizabeth's office.
"Are you doing anything tonight?" said Her Ladyship, leaning back in her chair and looking up.
"No, not really, why?"
"Well I thought you might like to come 'round and see my new toy," Elizabeth said, smiling.
"Oh, you mean your new help? I'd love to. I mean I've seen the photo's but I'd love to see exactly what he's like in the flesh, so to speak."
"OK, well, do you want to come by after dinner, about eight thirty?"
"Eight thirty it is, can't wait," Marnie replied, showing her white teeth as she smiled.
While he waited, Mitch anxiously paced around the house planning exactly how he wanted the evening to play out. At around seven o'clock he heard the sound of tyres crunching on the gravel drive, and made his way through the kitchen towards the cellar behind the kitchen. "Showtime" he mumbled to himself as he walked down the cellar steps. He heard the front door open then Lady Elizabeth's heels on the hallway's wooden floor.
"Run a bath for me then I'll have my dinner in the sitting room," he heard her shout.
Mitch waited patiently, sitting on the cellar steps and staring at the fading sunlight out of a small window while listening to the water rumble in the pipes and the butler peeling vegetables in the kitchen. Outside, the shadows of the trees on the lawn slowly lengthened, and the grass turned from lime green to olive green as evening slowly turned to dusk. As he listened to the butler serving dinner then loading up the dishwasher, dusk turned to night and the outside lights came on.
He was just wondering whether he should make his move when he heard another car coming up the drive. He closed his eyes and listened intently: the car door opening then slamming closed, footsteps on the gravel then Lady Elizabeth's heels on the wooden floor.
Then voices: "Marnie, do come in."
"Great, hey thanks again for inviting me."
Thoughts raced through his head. Why was Marnie here? Did they suspect something? This wasn't in his plan. Should he call the whole thing off? He could just wait here until the middle of the night and sneak out. Or maybe he could risk climbing out of the window now.
No, he had a feeling Marnie knew something and this was a chance to find out the full truth. He just had to make sure he seized the initiative and acted quickly when the time came. First though, he wanted to find out how they were treating "Mitch version 2". He waited until the women were settled in the sitting room with a couple of glasses of wine. When the butler returned, he led him down to the cellar and quickly swapped clothes. He instructed the butler to remain down there then skipped up the steps to the mirror in the hallway. He'd just finished straightening his black jacket when he heard Her Ladyship's voice: "Mitch can you bring in the rest of that bottle of wine?"
Mitch knew that this was the most dangerous moment. If they recognised him as the real deal he'd have a lot of explaining to do. His hands shook as he put the zinfandel in an ice bucket and held his breath as he carried it into the sitting room. Surely they'd notice the difference?
Marnie clapped her hands together and giggled as he put the ice bucket on the coffee table. "I just can't get over how lifelike he is!" she said excitedly.
"Hey, he ought to be lifelike for the amount of money I paid," Elizabeth said drily, holding out her glass. Mitch poured some wine for her trying not to shake too much as the adrenaline coursed through him.
"So who did the work?" her PA asked, holding out her glass as well.
"A little company that specialises in customisation. My late husband bought enough shares to get a seat on the board, so they didn't ask too many questions."
"Well they sure did a great job," Marnie said, sipping her wine.
"I tell you Marnie he's worth every cent," Elizabeth replied.
Mitch stood patiently while they talked, his mind processing the new information. What would her butler do now? Should he wait indefinitely, or go back to the kitchen?
"Is there anything else, ma'am?" he prompted when there was a break in the conversation.
"Just wait there, we may need some more wine in a minute," Elizabeth ordered.
"So you think he's as good as the real thing?" Marnie asked, smiling.
"Oh, he's much better than the real thing. He's obedient, he's a great cook, he does all the cleaning, I tell you he's the perfect man in every way."
"In
every
way?" Marnie asked, smiling wickedly and arching an eyebrow.
"Oh yes, in every way" Elizabeth confirmed.
